Seasons Change
by Neshira Namea
Summary: The war is over. Peace has come to the pridelands and Simba's new larger family lives content in their grassland paradise but when a new foe threatens their way of life they will have to rely on allies assumed dead. Together can they save their home?


**A/N: ** _Half commission half inspiration here. I've decided to write a Lion King Fanfiction...this is odd yes? There will be 2 OC's here and some characters seldom seen in the movies that are still considered canon. Other characters known only to those who frequent the TLK Fandom will probably feature as well if only in mention since I've found myself really enjoying stories of some of these characters. Anyway, enjoy! As with all my work this is completely first draft and unedited until I come back on and do so. Expect a few typos, run-ons, and other such nonsense._

**About chapter 1:**

_Meet Kuji and Eleza. Together their names make the Swahili word for Expression (Kujieleza). They are from a pride far away and have a fairly average (in terms of real lions) history. You'll see as the story grows that these twins are both very similar and very different. This first chapter details how they meet a certain outlander lion._

* * *

No noise came from cautious paws as they tread that forbidden line into the territory of another pride. Kuji sniffed the air, letting his grey eyes narrow. Oh how he hated this, sneaking around in their endless search for a place of belonging, trying not to raise the ire of the rightful property owners . Always they skirted territory lines, avoiding areas that smelled of other lions but sometimes, especially here in the heart of the grasslands that wasn't always possible. Often one territory bordered another with no way around and that meant sneaking through as quickly as possible. There would be no hunting and little rest until they were clear of the strong male scent about the area. How far had they traveled in the time since they were exiled from their own family? Too far in his mind. In all honesty he knew he would have given up and let go of hope long ago if not for his twin.

As though his very thoughts summoned her Eleza ghosted to his side. He knew she was coming before she was visible, though almost no one else would have. They had always been like that, from birth, able to sense each other if they were close enough and finishing each other sentences. He looked over, tilting his head at the sleek lioness questioningly. "I smelled something ahead." She spoke quietly. "It feels like there was a battle here not long ago, two groups of lions."

Kuji groaned. "Great. Not only are we in someone else's territory but we're in the center of an outright war between two prides."

Her head butted against his shoulder comfortingly. "It's not so bad as all that. They'll be too distracted to notice us until we're long gone." The female noted.

They moved in unison, speaking as they kept low to the ground, hidden by the long grasses. Skill at stealth was born from long practice. Lions didn't often survive without a pride of their own and a lone pair had to learn how to be fast and stealthy if they wanted any hope. Once more she looked over at him and nodded mutely before dissolving into the grass. She always scouted ahead and though he worried for her the young male knew it was for the best. Eleza was smaller than he and less likely to attract notice as a lone female than he would as a lone teen male. He stopped and sat, glancing around and letting himself sniff the air once more. A wind rushed through his brown mane and across his dusky almost sand-coloured skin. Thus far they had seen two types of lions here, pridelanders and those known as outlanders. The differences were minute, but they were enough to tell the two types apart. Pridelanders were brighter, almost radiant in a way, and looked as though they had been living well enough. They had a sparkle to their eyes and what he'd seen of them seemed to suggest they were a light-hearted bunch. Outsiders however tended to be leaner, smaller as a result of hard living with darker colouring and sharp faces full of malice. Kuji and Eleza were neither. Far away their pride had lived, possibly distantly related to these two groups at some point in the past but definitely no longer. In way they looked like a subtle mix of the two groups. Kuji was average size for a lion his age he supposed but Eleza was slightly smaller than other lionesses he'd seen even from their own pride. Amoung those they had come from were colourings similar to outlanders and pridelanders with everything in between.

The twins fell in that last category, everything in between. The dusky dark sand colour of their fur had nothing of the prideland radiance but wasn't the dark greyish tones of outlanders either. Kuji's growing mane was also dark, but simply a much darker tone of his fur rather than black or dark brown. All in all they could not pass as part of either group here so it was better to remain undiscovered. His thoughts carried him back to his twin and he began to worry. She'd been gone quite a while now. Walking softly but quickly he looked up as the last vestiges of the sunlight began to vanish in the fiery wash of the sky. "Hello? 'Leza?" He called, using her cubhood nickname. The female did not answer. A frog leapt from his path and soon his walking pawsteps became running ones as he cursed. She could be anywhere in these grasses and he'd not see her! Finally something calmed him and he felt as though she were near. The young lion was right and his twin once more came to his side almost like a shadow. "There you are! I was worried!" He began to lecture. Something in her face made him stop though.

"I found something Kuji..." She said quietly. Her stormcloud eyes were worried and he tilted his head quizzically at her. "Come with me and don't be angry." She answered. With that mysterious sentence she vanished into the grasses again. He followed the dark tuft of her tail and then her scent when the sky grew dark. Finally she led him to what appeared to be a canyon. With caution he made the treacherous climb down and found her standing before what appeared to be the remains of a burst beaver dam. "This is what I found."

Amidst the splintered wood he could see traces of fur, a paw here, the end of a tail there, and finally he started as he spied the head of a lion slightly older than them, perhaps by a season. "A dead outlander, so what?" He asked.

She shook her head and walked close to the fallen one, nudging his face with her own and closing her eyes. "I can feel his breath upon my ear Kuji. He's not dead."

"So? It's not like we can...oh no. No way. 'Leza he's a stranger! We shouldn't even _be_ here on his territory!" He growled angrily.

Her eyes were pleading. "He'll die if we don't help him."

"That's the circle of life!" He shot back. Every lion learned the lessons of the circle at a young age. Everything lived and died connected to everything else. "It's like rules for life. Do you want to go against that?"

It wasn't often that the two siblings fought but when they did Kuji had to steel himself for a battle of obstinence. "Yeah well it's also rules for life that exiled lions go and die and we beat that one didn't we?"

"We're still fighting that one and look what it's gotten us!" He shouted back. A long low growl came from his throat and he felt the fur along his spine stand on end. His face lowered to the ground and he snarled angrily, sliding his paws apart for balance as his tail lashed around him in annoyance. The last thing he wanted was to fight his own twin but he would if need be. There was no way they were going to have time or resources to take care of some other male. "In case you've forgotten we can barely feed ourselves, let alone another."

The female wasn't about to budge and she too lowered herself, snarling ferally. "We cannot just leave him Ku..." Her voice was at first fierce and then plaintiff. "Please. For me."

She had to ask that way. He sighed and straightened, making his way to the debris and grabbing a log in his mouth to try and wrestle it off of the stranger's body. "You owe me." He muttered through a mouthful of wood.

The lioness nuzzled him briefly before turning and taking on her share of the work. When the young adult's body was uncovered it was plain he was badly wounded. It appeared as though he were a patchwork of bloody cuts and one of his back legs stuck out at an unnatural angle that made them wince. He wasn't walking for a while, that was certain. What was more worrisome however was that through it all he hadn't stirred in the least. Eleza assured her twin he was alive but at times the male wasn't quite positive of that until he saw the deep trembling of the outlander. Of course, being buried under wood and water for that long would have chilled him to the bone. Together the twins managed to drag the injured male onto Kuji's back.

"He hasn't had much to eat in a while, that's for sure." The burdened teen muttered. "He barely weighs what you do, maybe less."

She nodded, inspecting the outlander closer as they tried to make it out of the unfamiliar territory before dawn. "Eww...termites..." The female made a distasteful face. "He'll need to be cleaned up when we get to...well wherever we're going."

Her brother sighed. "You do realize that this makes the need for a permanent home that much more urgent." Came the low resentful growl.

With a nod she continued to walk at his side. "We'll find somewhere."

ooo

Eleza was right. After days of walking with no sign of life from the limp outlander except the occasional wimper or shudder they finally reached a place with no lion scent attached. It was difficult, stopping each night to try and force some water and seriously shredded meat into the sickly one. He didn't take much but each time they were successful the female glowed and even Kuji had to admit he felt good about helping the outlander. A line of trees spread before them and he sniffed the air then smiled. "No lions, anywhere. We passed the last of the cheetah lands back there too it seems. There are definitely predators here but we'll be safe from other prides at the least."

She nodded as they entered the shaded area of sparse jungle. They had seen jungle before in their travels and decided it wasn't for them but this was different. The trees weren't as thick here and the air wasn't as moist. This seemed like an area in which they could survive at least for a little while. Perhaps even long enough to truly help their burden.

Kuji lay the other male on the ground, looking up to see his sister's tail tuft vanishing into the shadows. "Hey, where are you going!" He called.

"To find a water source and maybe some food." She answered. "Stay here with him." He grumbled but she was gone before the male could protest. Instead he sat on his haunches beside the wiry form of the stranger.

"M-mother..." A thin, feeble voice croaked and Kuji almost jumped out of his own skin before turning to their formerly unresponsive charge. "M...mother..." whatever bit of activity he'd gained the stranger soon lost it, settling from his weak stirring back into the near comatose shuddering of before.

When Eleza returned her brother informed her of the change and she seemed happy. "Good. I found a nice spot by a spring, bring him there. There's even a little cave that will make a good den for the three of us." They trotted to the spring and he once more left his burden to the ground, this time allowing his sister to watch over the outlander whilst he poked his head into the stone hollow. It was shallow but dry and seemingly safe. No other thoughts crossed his mind as he curled up with his tail over his nose and slept. This would be home for now.

Ooo

Nuka's world seemed a confusing blur of shapes and scents all acting as the backdrop to searing pain. He recalled his mother's face, leaping towards the enemy, prepared to do what he must for the glory of their pride. He was the good son. He was the worthy one, not Kovu. He had not betrayed her! The mangy lion remembered pain, water, then...nothing. All was black before the swirl of scents and voices had come. Even so, the pain remained and he cried out as it stung his side like the rough tongue of his mother when he was a cub, but worse.

Her eyes were wide and she looked down at the stirring lion with her tongue still halfway extended over the gash in his thigh. Had she moved his obviously broken leg too much? Either way she shifted and gazed down on his face instead, nudging it with her nose. "C'mon friend...return to the living now..." She pleaded softly with him. Her tongue rasped his cheek and she continued to clean his fur. Under her care the termites were gone and he looked slightly less dissheveled than he had when they found him. Cleaner at least though she feared he would forever be a bit messy looking. That was the result of growing up in the hazardous outlands she supposed. "You can do it. Fight whatever darkness has you in its grasp." She coaxed.

Another voice, this one clearer, not just a low rumble. _"C'mon friend, return to the living now..." _ He did not know that voice, did he? Could it be his mother? His mother recognizing him at last, loving him at last, seeing him as worthy of being her son, worthy of being Scar's son? _"You can do it..."_ Someone **was** encouraging him! _"Fight..." _Fight what? Wait... Simba! _"Fight whatever darkness has you in its grasp..."_ That was right. Simba! Simba had ruined everthing...but he wasn't alone. No. He had the treacherous little termite Kovu at his side like some kind of mascot. How dare he betray them, betray Scar's memory, betray _mother_. Mother...yes...she was coaxing him. "M-..." He gasped, slowly feeling the fog lift from him though his body still felt impossibly heavy and impossibly painful. "Moth...er..." His eyes clenched shut, then opened slowly and he gazed upon the grey of pre-dawn. "Mother..." Where was he? This wasn't the canyon, the last sight he'd seen before death had been his mother's face and the rest of their outland pride behind her, Vitani and the others looking shocked at his rash move, and torn by his obvious failure. This wasn't that canyon. He saw the roots of a tree before him, smelled nothing he recognized except those scents that had been with him since the darkness lifted. Nothing. Finally he focused slightly upward and met...eyes. A pair of large eyes the colour of stormclouds staring down at him. In some strange fit of observation he noticed the slight stripe under the right eye ending in a dot similar to one of his pride-members. Perhaps this person was related to Dotty and Spotty. "M-Mother..." He croaked again.

"I'm afraid your mother isn't here..." A soft voice replied. It was definitely female but different than those he knew. It was not husky like Vitani or deep like his mother's. Rather it was calm and quiet, and concerned. That wasn't something he'd heard often. "Do you remember your name?"

For a moment he blinked. Of course he remembered his name. Did she think him a fool? Probably. Most people did. "Nuka." He answered. The fog began again, from the outside inwards, taking him with it on a ride into oblivion and he fought long enough to hear her answer.

_ "Well Nuka...You're safe here with us."_She watched as the lion fell to sleep and sighed in relief. It looked as though he was going to live. Looking over she felt her brother before he became visible at the entrance to the small cave. "He woke." She whispered, stepping towards him and away from Nuka so that he could sleep.

"Really?" Her twin seemed genuinely surprised and actually somewhat pleased. "Did he say anything useful?"

"His name is Nuka." She answered quietly. "He woke up asking for his mother but other than that, nothing."

Kuji sighed. "Well hope you get more out of him. When he's well he will probably want to return to his family and they might want to thank us for saving his life."

"Now you're thinking this was a good idea." She chuckled, batting at an errant piece of her twin's mane with one paw.

Though he grumbled, Kuji couldn't really counter that. When she was right she was right. "Do you think it's safe to leave him here while we go hunt?" He asked. She nodded and together they dragged the injured Nuka into the small cave. "There. Let's go and get back before he wakes up and hurts himself."

Through the greenery they rushed, feeling the joyful passage of wind against their fur as they moved almost like one being on silent paws. The scent of antelope just beyond the line of trees, back in the grasslands, caught on the air and they turned to it, abruptly slowing . They broke into the open crawling low, silent, and slowly as they gazed upon the dawnlit herd before them. In the center they saw the young, surrounded by the feeble and sickly with all the healthy members on the outsides. As two lions alone it was only those in the center they could hope to take down but it would be enough. Like one mind they nodded at each other and split off in different directions, trapping the antelope between them and the trees in a bracket. All was going well, not a single keen ear had noted their movement in the underbrush and Kuji tensed as he awaited his sister's signal. She was faster, it was she who would break the cover and chase towards him. He was more intimidating so it was he who would turn them right back onto the claws of his twin for the joint takedown. It was a strategy that often worked for them. This time even more advantage was theirs in the line of trees that formed and additional third barrier, leaving the poor creatures only one direction to run.

As he was thinking his twin sprang from cover with a ferocious roar. The entire herd panicked and as planned they began to scatter in his direction, causing their targets in the center to mill about in fear before eventually joining the flow. "Steady..." He murmered. "Steady...now!" He broke his cover as they were within feet from him, feinting a swipe at a buck he knew they could not take and roaring as well. Of course the creatures turned from the male before them, bleating and calling out to each other in fright when they saw the trees blocking their escape. It was in this confusion that the twins struck, taking down a large but injured male together. Kuji latched himself to its throat and he saw his sister upon its back, digging her sharp fangs into is spine. With a snap the vertibrae severed and the animal went down screaming as only an antelope could. Mercifully he ended it for the beast, ripping its throat free before it could suffer any more pain. He looked to his sister and together they bowed their heads and spoke the words they always did upon a successful kill. "Thank you for allowing us to survive once more honourable one. Know that one day we shall become the grass and sustain your kin in return." That said they began the painful process of dragging such a large take back through the underbrush.

It was not often that a catch was so sizeable but the season was generous and Kuji thanked the stars that they had apparently chosen a fruitful place to settle in. Within normal packs the females hunted alone in groups whilst the males waited. Of course that was not their way, and perhaps it was a good thing. Most male lions were hopeless at first if they began starting their own pride, depending on others and hoping that numbers would cover up for their hunting inexperience. Kuji however had always been with his twin. Either way it was going to stay that way. Nothing would seperate them he knew. He wouldn't let it.

When they returned to the makeshift den Eleza immediately looked in on Nuka, finding him awake and looking around in confusion. "How are you feeling?" She asked. Almost as it came out she regretted the question. His leg was broken and she could only imagine the pain he was in, along with being in a strange place with strange lions. That couldn't feel particularly good.

The outlander's green eyes seemed to glow in the shade of the shallow den and he blinked at her before recalling that she must be the lioness he'd spoken to earlier. "I feel like a dam collasped on me...oh wait, it did." He answered dryly with a sullen expression. "Who are you? Where am I? Where's mother?" Strange perhaps for an adult male to be asking after his mother but he really didn't care. Mother was almost all he had, besides Vitani and even she treated him like dirt. In all fairness, mother didn't treat him any better but that was different. That was Kovu's fault, not hers.

She smiled, a sight he wasn't terribly used to seeing. "I'm Eleza, you're in my temporary home and I have no idea who or where your mother is." The female answered. "My brother is outside with dinner. Would you like me to bring you some, can you eat?"

At the mention of food his stomache growled louder than he could have at the moment. Apparently the female took that as an answer because she walked out of the cave, returning with a hunk of meat in her jaws and a male slightly younger than himself following her. When the two strangers sat side by side it was almost like looking at two of the same lion. It didn't bother him though, Spotty and Dotty were twins as well and they were both female. Not many could tell those two apart but he could. Even mother sometimes called one of them by the wrong name. "You're twins?"

The male nodded stiffly. "I'm Kuji. You're from just outside the grasslands, right?"

"The pridelands." Nuka answered. "And they rightfully belong to us."

Kuji sniffed. "They aren't the pridelands to us, it's not our pride that lives there." The younger male pointed out. "And as far as we could smell yours doesn't either, so that makes you an outlander."

"I'm the son of Scar." He answered angrily. "Those lands should be Mothers and mine. Our pride should be living at Pride Rock, not Simba's."

The name Simba rang a bell with Eleza but she ignored it. Other pride's business was none of hers. "Well either way, that's a long way from here. When you are well we can return and find your pride." Level-headed as always she smiled at the newcomer and nudged the hunk of meat towards him. "Please, for now eat and gain your strength Nuka."

He did not need to be told twice. In fact this was probably the largest meal he could remember having since his family had been banished. With gusto he tore into the delicious flesh, ignoring the other two lions, though he was curious about them.

"I'll take first watch while you eat." Spoke the female. What was her name, Elisa or Lesila or something like that. Either way she left him alone with her brother who hunched down and began eating at his own meal with nearly the same gusto as their injured guest.

When his stomach was full to bursting and he felt as though he might pop the outlander realized that he wasn't nearly as tired. His body didn't feel quite so heavy though the pain was still there. He didn't risk moving more than it took to shift into a more comfortable position from which he could see the male half of his rescuing team. Though he was younger Nuka was irked to notice that Kuji's mane was every bit as full as his, perhaps even more so. He seemed to have the exact same grey eyes as his sister and his body was honed by lean muscle. This one was definitely no pridelands lion. Tilting his head Nuka examined him more closely. No ribs were showing either though, so he couldn't be an outlander either. Curious. "Just where are you two from?" He asked.

Kuji glanced in his direction. "Far away."

"Like where? Are you related to anyone from the pridelands?" The injured one probed deeper.

"I don't think so."

"You're not very good at answering questions." He drawled, scraping his claw in the dirt idly.

"I liked you better when you were sleeping." The other shot back. Rolling his eyes he stood. "I'm done eating so I'm going to get my sister now. She can babysit you and maybe she'll finally eat something." With a yawn he stretched and padded out of the cave.

A few moments later the lioness entered and sat down before the third untouched hank of meat, eating it much more delicately than had her brother or Nuka. He watched her for a few moments, noting how small she was, close to the size of an outlander female as opposed to any pridelander he'd seen. Perhaps they weren't related to Simba after all. He tried his questions again, this time on her. "Where are you from?"

Surprised, she looked up. "Excuse me?" Apparently his question took her off guard.

Irritated, he repeated it. "Where are you and your brother from?"

"Oh, well I guess we're from...I dunno what you'd call it. Far away I guess. Many territories away from here." At least that was a better answer than Kuji had given.

"What are you two doing alone? Where's your pride?" Now that he was full and aware, this fact did raise his curiosity a bit. Two teen lions alone wasn't common.

She licked the last traces of blood from her chops and tilted her head in his direction. "Well..." her eyes were downcast, but she shrugged. "It's a long story."

"I'm not running anywhere." He replied dryly.

With a look at his oddly bent leg she chuckled, quickly stifling it with a paw before he could take offense. "Our King was rather strict, fair but strict. Our father was not from the pride and she had not obtained permission from the leaders to mate or have cubs. It was a dry season so when we were born the King had to banish us in order to have enough resources for the rest of the pride, including his own cubs..." She shrugged. "Our mother took us and left. We had a good thing going I think but she was killed in a grassfire a while back and we've been on our own since then." She noted. Idly she gathered the bones from their meal and piled them at the entrance to the cave. "Now we have you though, so we're not alone and Kuji is almost old enough to start his own pride." Curiosity lit those grey eyes of hers and she looked over at him. "What about you? How did your family become outlanders?"

Nuka sighed. "I don't feel like talking." A wall seemed to shoot up between them and he looked away, resting his head on his paws and feigning sleep until he heard her switch places with Kuji once more. Soon after he was no longer feigning and in his dreams he watched a lioness leave her home with two grey-eyed cubs.

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_Well that was chapter 1! It's short for me. In chapter 2 we'll be seeing a certain well-known pride and hearing a bit more about why Zira and her group were banished. Here's a hint: Anyone who is into the current TLK Fan-trends will probably know what's coming. That particular bit won't be super original because well...I happen to agree with that particular trend. Anyway, enjoy. As always art from this story can be found on Deviantart but it can also found on my TLKFAA profile here:_

**.org/Artists/Namea/**


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